Practice Makes Perfect
by rgs38
Summary: Sam has a tough negotiation ahead of him thanks to Natalie. Super short one-shot, some minor cursing. Totally new genre for me so out of my comfort range a bit.


Practice Makes Perfect

_I've tried to think about this one for quite a while but I just couldn't get the circumstances right to make it work. Let's see how this goes, please let me know what you think. The standard warnings here, I don't own Flashpoint and I tend to let curses slip without noticing so just be aware._

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"Okay, let's just take things slow here." Sam spoke with authority but tried not to be intimidating. He was trying to read the body language of the subject, trying hard to figure out if he was on the verge of surrendering or if he was about to launch into a rage. Sam wasn't sure if his words were helping but they didn't seem to be hurting so he continued. "All I want is for both of us to be happy here. What can I do so we can both be happy?" He offered as he took a cautious step forward. His internal thoughts were not nearly as calm and courteous as his words; _This is my apartment! The damn...vermin...that Natalie brings into this apartment...where the hell is she anyway? She should be dealing with this._ He mused before he saw movement before him.

In the middle of Sam's living room was quite a sight. Sam stood, his back to his bedroom door with only a towel around his waist, facing a small, white, poodle with a pair of blue and black boxer shorts between it's sharp teeth. The closer Sam moved to the dog, the harder it seemed to bite into the fabric and narrow it's eyes. When Sam spoke it seemed to relax slightly but that still didn't solve the predicament of his lucky boxers. He never acted as a superstitious person, he didn't have any rituals or any rabbit feet hanging around but there were a few times that he'd avoided some pretty nasty situations and, at some point, he noticed a pattern; he refused to admit it to anyone but these boxers were his lucky charm and he needed them today. It was the team's fourth shift this week and it had been a hellish one so far. They were having a bad week but also a lucky week, bullets hitting shields, bombs being wired incorrectly and just sparking, subjects forgetting to turn off the saftey from their guns; Sam wasn't wearing his lucky boxers every call, despite popular belief he did do laundry on occasion and wasn't a fan of dirty underwear, but three lucky breaks was a lot and he wasn't risking it today.

"So I can see that you like to chew things..." Sam said as he looked around the apartment for something acceptable to give the dog to chew on. "What if we trade?" He took the last sip of water from a plastic water bottle and closed it before holding it in front of him. "This, well this would be a great thing to chew on." He tossed it gently next to the dog but when it hit the hard wood floor the poodle barred it's teeth and growled. "Come on you damn dog!" Sam yelled in anger as he moved forward with the intention of picking the dog up. The poodle darted away under the couch and to the other side of the room, growling all the way and still with the boxers in it's mouth.

"Sam..." A voice can from his bedroom door as he felt himself blush. "You were doing good but negotiations take time, you've got to be patient without losing your temper." She chided jokingly as she walked lightly across the room, one of his oversize t-shirts the only thing that she was wearing.

"Then you show me, Jules." Sam baited her with a smile, knowing that she wouldn't succeed either. She smiled, accepting the challenge as she looked for the dog. When she finally spotted him in the corner of the room she turned to Sam.

"Watch and learn." She said confidently as she got down on one knee and held a hand out, still about a foot away from the dog.

"Hello precious." She started in a high pitched voice. "Aren't you adorable. I bet Sam scared you, didn't he?" She taunted him, all the while moving closer to the poodle. "But he gets like that when people don't believe in his lucky shorts, I know." She was inches away now and the dog was also inching towards her. Sam couldn't believe his eyes, the dog who was growling at him moments ago was not nestled against Jules' leg licking her hand and begging to be pet. Jules had taken Sam's shorts in her other hand and played with the dog for a few moments before standing up and walking back over to him. "You know what day it is?" Jules asked with a smile. Sam momentarily looked confused before she answered her own question. "It's Jules Day." Sam smiled and rolled his eyes slightly as he placed a kiss on her check and reached for his shorts. Jules pulled her hand out of his grasp though as he looked at her, again perplexed.

"Where are you going?" He asked as she turned her back and sauntered back towards his room.

"Well, we've got time before we need to be in and I think you owe me for saving your lucky shorts. I can think of a few ways for you to repay the favor..."

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_Just a quick little one. Fun fact, this is my 38th Flashpoint story (I know, that's weird, isn't it?) and it's the first one that I've written where Sam and Jules are explicitly in a relationship and definitely the first one that's even slightly romantic. So, basically, out of my comfort range here so let me know what you think._


End file.
